Communion Cups – Knowing More about Them

Whenever a layman movie buff hears of communion cups, the first thing that pops in his mind is usually the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Pop culture has greatly influenced us by signifying some of the most revered religious artifacts in a very unorthodox manner. However, the good thing with this is that they have also brought the spotlight on these items and helped people get acquainted with them.

In the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana is hunting for what people revere as the ultimate communion cup, the Holy Grail.

In most literary works, you will find that the Holy Grail came to be portrayed as the cup that Christ had used; this also stood for the plate and dish that was used in the Last Supper he had with his disciples.

As centuries passed, however, the meaning of the Holy Grail became synonymous with what we now call as our communion cup.

Nevertheless, even if people actually know about it, the use of communion cups all over the world has expanded and is very varied. The cups that are used are usually made from different kinds of materials depending on the people who make it as well as the country they are from.

As an example, the Christian peasants that are from Mexico create cups using baked clay while Christian Palestinians create cups with the use of olive wood.

Today, most churches hardly use glass cups. Big churches of today now prefer to use plastic communion cups.

Some churches that are small in size still prefer to use glass cups, even if it can take time in washing up. Because of this, plastic communion cups are more favorable for churches that have a bigger congregation.

In the end, one important purpose for the communion cups that we use is to represent the blood that Christ shed on our behalf. Thus, no matter what they are made of, they are an integral part of the Christian faith.

History is somewhat intertwined in the use of communion cups; from the Egyptians using their silver cups to the plastic cups that are used in today’s churches. They are definitely essential pieces of tools that people use in their practices and beliefs.

The chalice or a symbolized form for the Holy Grail is definitely a major part of the church. In fact, for some churches, they are often blessed before they are used.

Even though the cup in the Last Supper was hardly mentioned, people still gave it plenty of significance and uphold it as a sacred item. Another cup was also revered by Pilgrims in Jerusalem which was supposedly stored in the Holy Sepulcher.

This is thought to be the cup that was used by Christ in his crucifixion in Calvary and still supposedly contains that sponge that he used. This is of course, different from the cup and tradition surrounding the cup from the Last Supper.

Because of such strong faith, the legends about the ultimate cup or Holy Grail came into being, from Merlin to Dan Brown, the importance of communion cups, thus, came to be affected as well.

The stories have become muddled throughout the years and this is no surprise. However, no matter what the truth is about the Holy Grail, there is no denying the fact that the communion cups of today are still a huge part of the celebrations that we have today.